WIth four games remaining and a playoff berth hanging in the balance, the Ballard HIgh School boys basketball team took care of business Feb. 2 against Redmond, earning a 69-59 victory and keeping its hopes for a second-straight KingCo playoff appearance alive.

Senior Gary Smith led the Beavers with a game-high 21 points. Junior Salim Gloyd finished with 16.

"Our focus was excellent last night, as was our ball movement and unselfishness on offense," coach Billy Rodgers said. "I don’t think we played a complete game, but we played a very strong three quarters."

The Beavers let a 22-point lead in the third quarter narrow a bit but were able to recover.

"Redmond had been playing well, so beating them was a solid win," Rodgers said.

The win puts Ballard at 4-8 in KingCo and 6-11 overall. More importantly, it ties them with Redmond for the eighth and final playoff spot.

"There is a lot basketball to be played," Rodgers said. "We need to stay committed to an unselfish approach on offense and [make] a commitment to defense."

The Beavers are only half a game ahead of Newport and Roosevelt in the standings with a daunting season-closing stretch on the horizon.

Woodinville (8-5 in KingCo), Bothell (6-7 in KingCo) and Roosevelt (4-9 in KingCo) each beat Ballard in their previous meetings this season.

The Beavers lost 44-38 to Woodinville Dec. 18, 52-37 to Bothell Jan. 8 and 59-52 to Roosevelt Jan. 15.

Ballard will need to find a way to win against those opponents to give themselves a good shot at the playoffs.

"Each game becomes very important this time of the year," Rodgers said. "It is nice to be in the hunt."

The Beavers start with Woodinville at 8 p.m. on Feb. 5 at Ballard High School.